Beautiful Boat, be prepared ahead of time

Item: Norwegian Escape
Rating: 4
Author: lacywitschey

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

lacywitschey

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 41

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 10, 2017

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9896

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Loved the cruise. The boat was beautiful. Kids loved the slide and ropes coarse. However when given the 3 free specialty dining meals, making reservations for these meals was very hard. With 4,900 people on the boat and limited space in these small spaces is very tricky. We had 1 reservation as of day 1 and it was pulling teeth to get in the other 2 times. We ended up waiting at the door for almost an hour watching empty tables for the entire time, yet they waited 45 minutes to find us a table. Also silly that the adults only pool is where they showed the kids movies and the kids aren't allowed to be there. Minions is surely not an adult movie. The kids watched it from the bridge area standing beside the jogging track. I just thought that was silly. Other that that I had a wonderful time.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Only had Pepsi products :( Food wasn't very good. A lot of different kinds of ethnic foods that I had never even heard of. Dinner choices were not so great and the food wasn't my favorite.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Comedians seemed to say the exact same thing each show. By the end of the trip we had seen the show 3 times and knew exactly what they were going to say. At one point we just walked out and left. The Brat Pack is not kid friendly at all. Show time at 7:30 should warn that it is not for kids.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Great room, the balcony was large. Complaint about the room was tv programs. There were only 2 channels that showed normal things. You could go from Friends to Sofia the First in a row. Wish selections were better. There was the Guy Harvey Channel that was really neat but replayed the same show round the clock. After 7 days I knew each show and what what it was about.

Ship tip

Make reservations as soon as you can for specialty dinners or you will not have one.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras

5 out of 5

Harvest Caye, Belize

5 out of 5

Although a private island for the cruise ship only, the food and bars are not included. You must purchase these things.

Thumbs Up 0

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

5 Comments

henryg 7 years ago

I was told by our travel to make reservations prior so we did.

Thumbs Up 0

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bigdirtydaddy 7 years ago

I've been on the escape twice... it does fit more than 4200 but aside from the immediate pool area and Atrium during shows it's not that bad. For dinner reservations book early and of you don't your best bet is to visit the restaurant and make them in person. As always be polite, it goes a long way.

Thumbs Up 4

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nucfuel 7 years ago

My understanding is that stated capacity is based on assumptions on number of people in each cabin. If more cabins have 4 people rather than 2, stated capacity can be exceeded. That happened last time we were on the Oasis of the Seas.

Thumbs Up 1

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surinsquared 7 years ago

Wow! I'm sorry that someone left a rude comment. Thank you for your post....I am nervous about our cruise simply because EVERY post talks about the crowdedness and the pool situation. I'm taking 5 boys, so a pool and entertainment is a must!

Thumbs Up 2

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qcsoccer4fun 7 years ago

This ship has a capacity of 4200+ not 4900! Just sayin'! Oh, and did you know that you can make your specialty dining reservations 90 days prior to your cruise!? Again, just sayin'!

Thumbs Up 1

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